MTI-Leewood to supply Airbus A380 crew-rest compartments

By Liz White, ERJ staff

Mississauga, Ontario-Silicone elastomer and foam processor MTI-Leewood has gained a major contract-valued at $45 million over 20 years -to supply soft furnishings for the crew-rest compartments of the new Airbus A380 aircraft.

MTI-Leewood, a division of MTI Global Inc., will supply Airbus for new aircraft builds and will also supply for retrofit as needed. Serial deliveries, for mattresses, carpets, wall linings and curtains for the compartments, are scheduled to begin this autumn, said a statement from Mississauga-headquartered MTI.

"We're delighted that our silicone division in Bremen, Germany, MTI-Leewood, has secured these orders with this important customer," said Bill Neill, MTI global president and ceo, adding, "I'm particularly pleased that our investment in a team of engineers to work specifically with Airbus is now paying off."

Thorsten Schmidt, Airbus programme manager at MTI-Leewood pointed out that, "This is a very significant win for our division. This contract will provide a substantive revenue flow for at least 20 years and represents the result of a major effort by our team here in Bremen."

Schmidt said his team "has full responsibility for the design, development and building of these parts and our new design proposal was instrumental in winning this business," adding that he expects "opportunities on other models as a result."

As well as $15 million in OE installation, the deal involves a further $30 million in retrofit.

MTI-Leewood added that it has successfully completed EN9100D certification-allowing it to supply the aerospace industry with specifically designed or developed parts from its Bremen plant.